A review by inkdrinkermal
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This felt like a more modern version of Passing by Nella Larsen with the plot of Stella passing as white and marrying and raising her daughter as white while Desiree raised her daughter as black, and East of Eden by John Steinbeck with the family saga spanning decades and state lines. I believe this is a modern classic, masterfully covering topics of race, color, gender-identity, and family. It was beautifully done. 

I couldn't stand Stella though. Like, really, really, truly hated her. She was not redeemed by the end of the book and her selfishness was hard to read through (see how she treated Adele, Desiree, Loretta, Blake, AND Kennedy?! It was awful to read), so I dropped the rating a star. Having such a thoroughly unlikeable character with no redemption made the book more difficult to get through.
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